For Release: Friday, September 16, 2005

DEC Temporarily Closes Several Shellfishing Areas in Suffolk County

Closures Follow Extremely Heavy Rainfall

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that it has designated several shellfish harvesting areas on the north shore of Suffolk County as temporarily closed to shellfishing. These temporary emergency closures are in response to the extraordinary rainfall that occurred on September 15, 2005. This designation is effective immediately and remains in effect through Friday, September 23, 2005. The following areas are designated as uncertified and the harvest of shellfish is temporarily prohibited:

Town of Huntington: all shellfish lands in southern Huntington Bay and all the shellfish lands in Lloyd Harbor;
Town of Smithtown: all shellfish lands within Stony Brook Harbor and its tributaries; and
Town of Brookhaven (north shore): all shellfish lands in Stony Brook Harbor, Flax Pond, Port Jefferson Harbor, Mount Sinai Harbor and their tributaries.

This action was taken to protect public health following the heavy rains and excessive stormwater runoff associated with the intense rain event throughout the day on September 15 and overnight into September 16. Rainfall exceeded three inches in the affected areas and approached four inches in western Brookhaven north shore locations. The extraordinary volume of stormwater runoff may cause shellfish in the affected areas to be hazardous for use as food.

DEC will re-open areas as soon as possible based on the results of bacteriological analyses of water samples that will be collected during the next several days. A taped message advising harvesters of the status of these shellfish areas may be heard at (631) 444-0480. The message will be updated during the course of the temporary closures.

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